HoUinger Corp. 
pH8.5 



^ SUPPLEMENT 



TO THE 



Revised School Law^ 



OF 



TV^EST VIRGINIA 



CONTAINING ACTS AND AMENDMENTS KEL-ATING TO 

EDUCATION PASSED BY THE LEGISLiATURE AT 

THE REGXTIjAR SESSION OF 1909 




ISSUED BY 

THE departm:ent of schools 

jVI» I*. SHA-'WKEY, state supebintendknt 
CHAKLESTON, W, VA. MARCH, 190S. 



<UNION(^)LABEL> 



AUG 19 191 






^^ 






CONTENTS 



Page. 

Relating to the adoption of text boolis 5 

Relating to the examination of teachers 10 

Relating to the certification of graduates 11 

Relating to holidays 11 

Relating to the Board of Control for State Institutions 12 

Relating to the supplementary funds 13 

Relating to additional levy 13 

Relating to general school fund ....." 14 



SUPPLEMENT 

TO THE 

Revised School La^w of West Virginia 

Containing Acts and Amendments Relating to Education Passed 
by the Legislature at the Regular Session of 1909. 



ADOPTION OF TEXT BOOKS 

Senate Bill No. 1 abolishes our present countj^ system of text book 
adoptions and substitintes therefor a system of uniform text books 
throughout the State to be adopted by a Text Book Comtmission. 

Sec. 1. There is hereby created a state school book commission, 
which shall consist of the state superintendent of free schools, who 
shall be ex-officio secretary, and eight citizens of the state at 
least five of whom shall be experienced educators of known char- 
acter and ability, and who are at the time of their appointment 
engaged in actual educational work, not more than five of whom 
shall belong to the same political party, who shall be appointed 
by the governor on or before the 1st day of April, 1912, and ev- 
ery fifth year thereafter; said appointees shall take office thirty 
days after their appointments and serve for five years, unless re- 
moved by the governor for good and sufficient cause. Vacancies 
on said commission shall be filled by the governor by appoint- 
ment. Said appointees shall receive five dollars per day for each 
and every day actually engaged in the work of the commisssion, 
not exceeding ten days in any one year, and their actual neces- 
sary expenses in connection therewith. Before assuming the 
duties of office they shall each take an oath or affirmation before 
some one qualified by law to administer the same, to faithfully 
and honestly perform their duties as hereinafter prescribed to 
the best of their ability, and that they are in no way interested 
in the 'preparation, manufacture or sale of any text-books that 
may be submitted to said commission for consideration. Such 
oath or affirmation shall be filed in the office of the state super- 
intendent of free schools. 

Sec. 2. It shall be the duty of the state superintendent of free 
schools during the month of April, 1911, to contract for the 



period of one year from July 1st following, with the publishers 
thereof, for such text-books as are now in use, and for which 
county contracts will expire June 30, 1911, said contracts to be 
made upon the same terms and conditions as are contained in the 
existing county contracts. 

Sec. 3, The members of the state school book commission shall 
meet at the office of the state superintendent of free schools on 
the first Tuesday in May, 1912, and each fifth year thereafter, at 
which time they shall ask various publishers of text-books in the 
United States to submit samples and prices of text books on all 
subjects required to be taught in the free schools of the state, 
viz : spelling, reading, writing, arithmetic, language and gram- 
mar, physiology and hygiene, civil government, state history, 
United States history, general history, book-keeping, geography, 
elementar-y algebra-, plane geo^metry, elements of agriculture, 
literature, drawing and English dictionaries and such other sub- 
jects which from time to time in the judgment of the board seems 
necessary and best to serve the educational interests of the state. 
The said commission shall select one of its members as chairman, 
and it shall be his duty to preside at all meetings. All bids or 
proposals shall be under seal, and submitted to the chairman of 
said commission to be opened by him in the presence of said com- 
mission at an executive session to be held at the place aforesaid, 
on the first Tuesday in June following. Each bid or proposal 
shall be accompanied by a sufficient number of specimen copies 
of all books offered for adoption, to supply each member of said 
commission. When said bids and sample copies are submitted 
to the chairman of said commission, each bidder shall deposit 
with the state treasurer such sum of money as said commission 
shall designate ; such deposit to be not less than one thousand 
dollars nor more than three thousand dollars, according to the 
number of books each bidder may propose to supply. Such de- 
posit of any bidder shall be forfeited to the school fund of the 
state, if such bidder shall fail or refuse to make and execute such 
contract and bond as are hereinafter required, in case of the ac- 
ceptance of such bid on any or all of the books so offered. No bid 
or proposal is to be considered by said commission until such de- 
posit is made, and until the commission is informed in writing 
of the name and address of an agent residing in this state upon 
whom process may be served in any action brought against such 
bidder. 



Sec. 4. Upon the opening of said bids on the first Tuesday in 
June the said commission, having adopted rules governing its 
order of procedure, shall immediately proceed to the considera- 
tion of the merits of the books offered, taking into consideration 
their subject matter, printing, binding and their general suita- 
bleness for the purpose intended, as well as the price of said 
books. Said commission shall select and adopt one book, or one 
series of books, and only one, on each subject mentioned in sec- 
tion three of this act, for uniform use in the free schools of this 
state, except as hereinafter provided, taking only those which in 
their best judgment will come the nearest accomplishing the ends 
desired; provided that no book inferior in quality, or of a parti- 
san or sectarian nature shall be adopted, nor shall any book be 
adopted by less than five affirmative votes ; nor shall any book or 
books be changed at the expiration of any five-year contract 
made by said commission upon fewer than six affirmative votes. 
When selections and adoptions of books have been properly 
made, it shall be the duty of the chairman of the state school 
book commission to execute contracts therefor with the publish- 
ers thereof for a period of five years, beginning July 1st, follow- 
ing. Such contracts shall be prepared by the attorney general in 
accordance with the terms and provisions of this act, and shall 
be executed in duplicate, one copy held by the contractors and 
one by the secretary of said commission. It shall be the duty of 
said secretary to keep a full and complete record of the proceed- 
ings of the said commission, said record to be kept in his ofiice 
and be open to inspection of any citizen of the state. Should any 
successful bidder fail to contract, or, if for any cause any book 
or books adopted cannot be secured, the commission shall pro- 
ceed at once to the selection and adoption of other books in lieu 
thereof. 

Sec. 5. At the time of the execution of the contract aforesaid 
the contractors shall enter into a bond in the sum of not less than 
ten thousand dollars, payable to the state of West Virgina, con- 
ditioned on the faithful and honest performance of their con- 
tract; any guaranty company authorized to do business in the 
state of West Virginia may become surety on said bond, and it 
shall be the duty of the attorney general to prepare and the 
board of public works to approve said bond. After all contracts 
have been executed as herein provided, it shall be the duty of the 
said commission to notify the state treasurer to return all bid- 



8 

ders such cash deposits heretofore required as have not been for- 
feited in accordance with the provisions of this act, receiving 
therefor receipt in duplicate, one copy of which shall be filed 
with the state superintendent of free schools. Any deposit for- 
feited in accordance with the provisions of this act shall be 
placed to tlie" credit of the school fund. 

Sec. 6. It shall be the duty of the state school book commis- 
sion at the last meeting aforesaid to fix the prices at which the 
various books adopted shall be sold to patrons, the excess of 
which above contract price representing the profit to the retailer ; 
but in no case shall such profit exceed twenty per cent, of the 
contract price. The state superintendent of free schools shall 
notify each county superintendent of the list of books adopted 
and the prices at which they are to be sold and any person sell- 
ing such books at a higher price than that fixed by the state 
school book commission shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and 
upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than ten dollars 
nor more than fifty dollars. The books furnished during the 
contract period shall be equal in all respects to the sample 
copies furnished the said commission; and it shall be the duty 
of the state superintendent of free schools to carefully preserve 
in his office as the standard of quality, sample copies of all bt)oks 
contracted for. 

Sec. 7. It shall be the duty of each contractor at his own ex- 
pense to place with responsible dealers, in no fewer than three 
magisterial districts in each county, a sufficient quantity of books 
to supply the demand. He shall also arrange for the exchange of 
books at such places, allowing pupils or Boards of Education not 
less than fifty per cent, of the retail price of new books for the 
old books of like kind and grade displaced. The exchange privi- 
lege shall extend through one entire school year, and the dealer 
making the exchange shall be allowed by the contractors ten per 
cent, of the cash proceeds of same. Any teacher permitting in 
his school the use of any unauthorized book shall be deprived of 
his salary during the period of such violation of this act. Nothing 
in this act is to be construed as preventing the use of supplemen- 
tary readers, provided they do not displace the adopted readers, 
nor the use of more advanced books in such schools as may be 
ready for the same. Boards of education in cities and indepen- 
dent districts containing thirty-five hundred population or more 
may reserve the right to select their own text books ; but should 

*■ 



they elect to use any of the books adopted by the state school 
book commission they shall purchase them upon the same terms 
as hereinbefore provided, and shall not change them out during 
the period such books are under contract. 

Sec. 8. Should any contractor furnish the same books con- 
tracted for in this state, at lower prices to any other state, city 
or county in the United States than the contract prices in this 
state, like conditons prevailing, the same reduction shall imme- 
diately be made in this state, and the state school book commis- 
sion is directed to recj[uire compliance with this provision on pen- 
alty of cancellation of contract mth such contractor. 

Sec. 9. It shall be the duty of any contractor to prepare print- 
ed lists, showing the exact titles of his books, the prices at which 
same are to be sold by the dealers, and the prices of same when 
corresponding old books are given in exchange, and send to each 
county superintendent a sufficient number to supply every teach- 
er in the county. It shall be the duty of each county superinten- 
dent to see that the teachers of his county display such printed 
lists for the inspection of the pupils. 

Sec. 10. Complaint in writing to any board of education of any 
district, by any citizen, or by any contractor to the effect that a 
teacher of such district is permitting the use of unauthorized 
books in his school, shall be deemed sufficient cause for investi- 
gation by said board of education, and if such complaint is found 
to be true, the board shall inflict the penalty provided in section 
seven of this act. Members of boards of education who fail or 
refuse to perform the duties required of them in this section shall 
be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof before 
any justice of the peace, shall be fined not less than twe#ty-five 
dollars, nor more than fifty dollars. 

Sec. 11 It shall be a part of the terms and conditions of any 
contract made in pursuance of this act that the state of West 
Virginia shall not be liable, in any manner, in any sum whatso- 
ever; but all said contractors shall receive their pay solely from 
the several dealers in each of the counties of the state provided 
in section seven of tliis act. Such contract shall also provide that 
any pupil, parent or teacher may order books direct from the 
contractors and receive them prepaid at the prices fixed by the 
state school book commission for their sale by dealers in the sev- 
eral counties. Provided, however, that the pay for same shall 
accompany the order. 



10 

Sec. 12. The sum of one thousand dollars, or so much thereof 
as may be necessary, for the year 1912 and each fifth year there- 
after is hereby appropriated for the purpose of defraying the ex- 
pense of the state school book commission, as hereinbefore pro- 
vided. The bills for such expenses shall be approved by said 
commission and presented in the usual way for payment out of 
the state treasury. 

Sec. 13. Any member of the state school book commission who 
shall receive, solicit or accept any gift, present or thing of value 
to influence him in his vote for the adoption of books, or any per- 
son who shall either directly or indirectly give or offer to give 
any such gift, present or thing of value to any member of said 
state school book commission to influence him in voting for the 
adoption of books shall be guilty of a felony, and upon conviction 
thereof shall be punished by confinement in the penitentiary of 
this state not less than one year nor more than three years. 

Sec. 14. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this act 
are hereby repealed; but nothing in this act contained shall be 
construed as repealing sections thirty-five and thirty-six of chap- 
ter twenty-seven of the acts of the Legislature of West Virginia 
of the extra session of 1908. 

UNIFORM EXAMINATIONS. 

Senate Bill No. 133 amends sections 81 and 82 of tlie Revised School 
Law. It • appropriates funds for the administration of the Uniform 
System of examinations, adds agriculture to the list of subjects in 
which teachers are to be examined, exempts teachers in the primary 
grades of graded schools from passing an examination in general his- 
tory an^ bookkeeping, and permits teachers who have failed in part of 
the subjects, not exceeding seven, to be re-examined in these subjects 
at a succeeding examination in the same year and receive credit for 
those in which they have passed successfully. 

Sec. 81. For the preparation and printing of questions, the 
grading of manuscripts, the transmission of certificates and the 
additional clerical work demanded, the state superintendent of 
free schools shall be allowed an amount not to exceed six thous- 
and dollars annually, which sum is hereby appropriated and set 
apart from the general school fund for this purpose. 

Sec. 82. Applicants for teachers' certificates shall be required 
to pass an examination in orthography, reading, penmanship, 
arithmetic, English grammar and language, physiology and hy- 



11 

giene, United States history, state history, geography, civil gov- 
ernment, agriculture, and theory and art of teaching ; and appli- 
cants for certificates good in the advanced grades of graded 
schools or in high schools shall in addition to the foregoing be re- 
quired to pass examinations in general history and single-entry 
book-keeping. Applicants for high school and primary teachers' 
certificates shall pass an examination in such other branches as 
the state board of education may prescribe. Applicants having 
passed one examination may take a part of the branches, not ex- 
ceeding one-half, in a second or third examination of the same 
year, upon payment of one-half the regular fee and the state 
superintendent may at his discretion allow such applicant the 
benefit of his highest grade in each branch, in making up his 
certificate- 

CERTIFICATES GRANTED TO CERTAIN GRADUATES. 

Senate Bill No. 12 7 provides for the granting of certificates without 
examination to certain graduates of the State University and the State 
Normal Schools, and to graduates of such other schools as may, in the 
judgment of the State Board of Education, be entitled thereto. 

Sec. 92. The state superintendent of free schools shall issue 
first grade certificates in duplicate, upon application in due form, 
to graduates of the West Virginia University, who have taken at 
least six courses in education; to graduates of the Normal De- 
partment of the State Normal School and its branches ; to gradu- 
ates of the Normal Departments in all other schools of the state, 
who have completed a normal course which in the judgment of 
the state board of education is equivalent in amount, kind, and 
quality to that of the State Normal School and its branches ; and 
to graduates of the Normal Department of the "West Virginia 
Colored Institute. 

HOLIDAYS. 

Senate Bill No. 59 adds Lincoln's Birthday to the list of legal holi- 
days prescribed by law, but provides that the schools of the State shall 
remiain in session and celebrate the day with appropriate comtaemora- 
tive exercises. 

Sec. 1. That the following days be regarded, treated and ob- 
served as legal holidays, namely, the first day of January, com 
monly called New Year's Day; the twenty-second day of Febru- 



12 

ary, commonly called Washington's Birthday; the fourth day of 
July, commonly called Independence Day; the thirtieth day of 
May, commonly called Memorial Day; the twenty-fifth day of 
December, commonly called Christmas Day; the first Monday in 
September, commonly called Labor Day; the twelfth day of Feb- 
ruary, commonly called Lincoln's Birthday: Provided, however, 
that the common and graded schools of this State, the terms of 
which have not expired on said last named day, shall remain in 
session and hold appropriate ceremonies in honor of Abraham 
Lincoln, unless his birthday fall upon Saturday or Sunday. Any 
National or State election day and all days that may be appoint- 
ed or recommended by the Governor of this State or the President 
of the United States as days of thanksgiving or for the general 
cessation of business; and when either of said days or dates falls 
on Sunday, then it shall be lawful to observe the succeeding 
Monday as such holiday. * * * 

BOARD OF REGENTS. 

Senate Bill No. 2 92 provides for a Board of Control of three mem- 
bers to have general control of all State institutions, and for a Board 
of Regents, consisting of five members, to 'have charge of educational 
matters pertaining to the State educational institutions. Section 17 of 
this Bill relates to the Board of Regents and their duties and is as 
follows: 

Sec. 17. There is hereby created a State Board of Regents 
which shall be a corporation, and as such may contract and be 
contracted with, plead and be impleaded, sue and be sued, and 
have and use a common seal. It shall consist of five members 
including the State Superintendent of Free Schools, who shall 
be citizens of the State and who shall be chosen from the two 
largest political parties and not more than three members shall 
belong to the dominant political party. On or before the first 
day of July, nineteen hundred and nine, the Governor shall ap- 
point, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate four of 
said Regents, one for one year, and one for two years, one for 
three years, and one for four years, and thereafter one each year 
for the full term of four years. The Board shall choose one of 
its members to be president thereof. The Governor may remove 
any member of the Board for incompetency, neglect of duty, 
gross immorality, malfeasance in office, or for other good cause 
and in case of vacancy, whether occurring by reason of removal 



13 

or otherwise, may declare the office vacant and fill the same by- 
appointment for the unexpired term. The salary of each mem- 
ber of said Board, except the State Superintendent of Schools, 
shall be one thousand dollars a year and in addition thereto he 
shall be paid his actual expenses while so employed, but the 
State Superintendent shall be allowed only his necessary ex- 
penses while serving as a Regent and shall receive no per diem. 
A verified itemized statement of their expenses shall be filed with 
the State Auditor to be audited by him before paying therefor 
and hereinbefore provided. The Board may employ a secretary 
and fix his compensation. 

SUPPLEMENTARY FUND. 

Section 54 of the General Appropriation Bill makes the following 
appropriations for the aid of districts in the State that cannot main- 
tain their schools for a nnnimum term of six months at the maximum 
rates of levy fixed by law: 

1909 1910 

For supplementary aid for teachers' fund $10,000 $75,000 

For supplementary aid for building fund 15,000 

To be paid out of the General School Fund. 

The distribution of these funds is provided for in section 21c, chap- 
ter 27 of the Acts of 1908. 

ADDITIONAL LEVY. • 

House Bill No. 232 amends and re-enacts section 21, Chapter 27 
of the Acts of 1908. The only changes made by this bill were, that 
providing for an increase in the supplementary fund and that permit- 
ting districts containing incorporated towns or cities to lay an addi- 
tional levy to run their schools for a longer term than six months. 
The latter provision is contained in the following quotation from the 
act : 

"Provided, however, that in any district which contains an in- 
corporated city or town where a graded or high school is main- 
tained, which is continued for a longer period than six months, 
the board of education shall have authority to lay a levy in addi- 
tion to the levies above specified sufficient for all purposes to con- 
duct the schools of said city or town for the term fixed. ' ' 

The same amounts appropriated hy this bill for the supplementary 
funds are provided for in the general appropriation bill. These 
amounts are given above under the heading, "Supplementary Fund.'' 



14 
AUDITOR TO ASCERTAIN AMOUNT OP GENERAL SCHOOL FUND. 

House Bill No. 319 amends and re-enacts section 41, chapter 27 of 
the Acts of 1908. It changes the date of the Auditor's report con- 
cerning the amount of the General School Fund to be distributed. 

Sec. 41. It shall be the duty of the auditor, on or before the 
twentieth day of July, in each year, to ascertain the amount of 
the general school fund which is distributed among the several 
counties as aforesaid, and notify the state superintendent of free 
schools thereof, who shall thereupon ascertain the proper share 
of each county and notify the auditor and each county superin- 
tendent of said apportionment. 



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